Saginaw family donates extensive collection of James Joyce novels, critical reviews to SVSU

KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI — Fans of author James Joyce now have the opportunity at Saginaw Valley State University learn even more about the 20th century Irish author.

The family of Dr. George A. Ellis, a Saginaw physician who died in 2010, donated a collection of more than 350 books written by or relating to Joyce. Some of the books are first editions.

The books should soon be in circulation.

“(The collection) is substantial not only in number but also in depth,” said James Sullivan, an English professor at SVSU.

Sullivan has taught two upper division courses on Joyce.

“Joyce has long been considered one of our literary giants,” he said. “Together with Kafka and Proust, Europeans mark his texts among the milestones of modern literature.”

Three of Joyce’s four volumes were recently been ranked among the top literary works of the 20th century, Sullivan said. Those novels are ‘Dubliners,’ ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,’ and ‘Ulysses.’

Most of the books are copies of those works and critical commentary on them, he said.

Ellis traveled to Dublin, Ireland to attend Joyce seminars and build his collection. His son, Ronan Ellis of El Dorado Hill, Calif., donated the collection on behalf of the family.

SVSU will thank the family with a plaque.

Sullivan said the collection will help students studying the author.

“For students, the collection makes available the sort of depth needed to pursue serious study of one of the giants of the modern temper,” he said. “In the future, we can expect a variety of research papers as well as honors theses being generated by this treasure trove. Students will no longer have to travel to distant sources to venture forth on a writer that never fails to surprise, and to reward study.”

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of ‘Dubliners’ and the first installments of ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’.